Schlagwort-Archive: Aulaqi

Several weeks have passed since a U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed one of the most prominent Jihadi figures out there – US-Yemeni Anwar al-Awlaki. As many of my blogger and journalist colleagues have lengthy written about the impact of Awlaki´s death on Jihadism or the Al-Qaida network itself, I don´t want to go into this topic again.

Instead I want to share an e-mail with the readers that I got back June. Via a vital contact I asked the editors of „Inspire“- magazine published by „Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula“ (AQAP) about the risks of „hijrah“ (migrating to an Islamic country) to Yemen and joining Al-Qaida.

The „Inspire“ staff responded to the e-mail…due to the perfect English I suggest this e-mail might indeed have been written either by Anwar al-Awlaki himself or by Samir Khan, a US-raised Jihadi militant who worked as the chief-editor of „Inspire“ until he was killed in the same drone strike that killed Awlaki.

Of course there is also the possibility another, unknown English-speaking Jihadi militant answered my e-mail question. As for know, there is no way to confirm this indeed was written by Awlaki or Khan.

„Two weeks after the martyrdom of Sheikh Anwar, we again mourn the martyrdom of his eldest son Abdul Rahman“, a statement reads posted on Jihadi Internet forums in recent days. The statement claiming a US drone strike last Saturday killed Anwar al-Awlaki´s eldest son, was written by the Awlaki family which claims they avoided talking to media but now want to speak out.

A US drone strike in the Shabwa region of Yemen has killed several alleged Al-Qaida members including Abdul Rahman Bin Anwar al-Awlaki, the son of Anwar al-Awlaki who was killed September 30 in a similar US drone strike targeting a convoy in Shabwa.

According to his family Abdul Rahman Bin Anwar al-Awlaki was born in Denver (Colorado) August 26 1995 and was 16 years old when he died last weekend. He became a resident of the Yemeni capital Sanaa after moving there from the U.S. in 2002 – still possessing the American citizenship.

Abdul Rahman al-Awlaki allegedly told his mother he wanted to visit the area where his father was killed. On October 14 the Awlaki son and several of his comrades had dinner at nighttime according to the family´s statement when the U.S. missile hit.

A birth certificate of the 16 year-old Awlaki son was released to the Washington Post, proving that he was the son of the Yemeni Jihad preacher and a Yemeni woman from Egypt. Facebook pages mourning the teenagers death show pictures of a slim young man wearing glasses and Western clothing.

If true the Abdul Rahman Bin Anwar al-Awlaki would be the fourth American citizen killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen since 2002.

Al-Qaida the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has released a statement on the Internet confirming the death of US-Yemeni preacher Anwar al-Awlaki in an American airstrike in Yemen on September 30 in the region between Al-Jawf and Maarib.

The statement is titled „Blood of the Martyr is the Light and Fire – A Statement on the Martyrdom of Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki and his comrades“ and was signed by the „Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula“.

Al-Qaida writes „the Mujahid Sheikh Abu Abdelrahman Bin Nassir Anwar al-Awlaki“ as well as US citizen Samir Khan, Abu Muhsin al-Maaribi and Salim Marwani were killed in a bombing by a US aircraft.

The U.S. government never proved their allegations against Awlaki, Al-Qaida claims, instead they killed him according to their unfair laws. „Sheikh Anwar went to the Gardens of Eternity (…) and left the Ummah on the path of Jihad“, the statement further reads. America killed Awlaki „but it cannot kill an idea“. Awlaki´s blood, Al Qaida warns, will not be shed in vain.

In the last part of the martyrdom statement, the terror organizations highlights the latest events in Syria and Yemen, accusing the West of not helping the people who rose against injustice.

There is no reason to believe the martyrdom statement is not authentic. It bears all the hallmarks of an official AQAP release.